The Easy Egg Frittata: 7 Recipes to Get Your Breakfast On

Looking for a quick dish that works great for mornings, weeknight dinners, and fancy brunches alike? We suggest cracking a few eggs and whipping up a super tasty and incredibly versatile Italian frittata.

Sort of like an omelet crossed with a quiche, frittatas are delicious hot or cold (think easy brown-bag lunch for the office). They also offer serious wow-factor for very little work. All you need are eggs and anything else you have around: veggies, olives, capers, herbs, cheese, beans, sausage, salmon, that half-jar of roasted red peppers that has been languishing in the fridge, leftover brown rice from last night—and even fruit!

Boon for little bodies: Eggs are a rich source of protein and offer a gaggle of nutrients, like vitamin B12 (which keeps the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA; eggs are one of the only good vegetarian sources), vitamin D (important for growth), and selenium (essential for the immune system).

Have we got you convinced? Great!

How to Make Egg Frittata in 5 Simple Steps

Ingredients

6-12 eggs
2-4 tablespoons whole milk or cream
Toppings (e.g., small broccoli florets, shredded spinach, basil, onion, mozzarella, kale, green olives, cheddar, sausage, bacon, etc.)

Directions

Crack your eggs and then add the milk/cream and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until just combined. (Note that overbeating will get you a spongy texture rather than the desired custardy one.) You can also add half your cheese at this stage if you like.
Preheat the broiler and, if you have one, grab your well-seasoned cast iron pan—it’s the best tool for the job, but you can also use a nonstick ovenproof skillet. For a 12-egg frittata, a 10-inch pan should be just right. (If you’re using half the eggs, you can still use the same pan, but you’ll need to adjust your cook time–and keep an eye on it!) Place your skillet on the stove and heat a tablespoon of butter or oil on medium.
Sauté your add-ins until thoroughly cooked. Remove any excess liquid that can come from, say, sautéed greens or zucchini.
Pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients and cook for a few minutes until the eggs start to set. Sprinkle with any remaining cheese, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the frittata is almost set but the top is still a little runny, about 5-7 minutes.
Place the skillet under the broiler and broil until the top is set and golden brown on top, about 5 minutes. Let the frittata stand 2 or 3 minutes. You can use a rubber spatula to gently slide the frittata onto a presentation plate, or, like us, just cut and serve straight from the pan!

Try These Other Easy Fancy Breakfast Recipes

You can also make individual mini frittatas in a muffin tin for kid-friendly appeal and a great picnic food or breakfast-on-the-go. We like these spinach and goat cheese delights from Parenting.
Fruit in your eggs?! This sweet apple and white cheddar frittata from Martha Stewart sounds downright divine!
Finally—a yummy way to put that leftover spaghetti to good use! Try Mark Bittman’s pasta frittata for the New York Times.
A staple of tapas, the classic Spanish tortilla (not talking about the taco type here) is similar to a frittata but much denser, as the eggs are more of an accent to layers of luscious potatoes. Try the Splendid Table’s four-ingredient take.
Also very similar to a frittata, the Egyptian eggah traditionally includes parsley, onion, and spices, but we’re digging the hearty addition of chickpeas and courgette (a.k.a. zucchini) in GoodtoKnow’s version.
Yet another cousin of the frittata, the Persian kuku (like this fragrant and flavorful one full of green stuff from the Kitchn) has tons of chopped fresh herbs and can even include dried fruit or chopped walnuts.